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Ben Pakulski: Row to Grow!

BPak's tips for perfect form and a big back!

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Flex Staff

Another awesome week of training in BPak Land. Killed back twice this week: One day is heavy rows and pull ups; the other day is very meticulous contraction and back to basics with deadlifts at the end of the workout.

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I had been told to avoid deads last contest season for fear it might build my waist. I say bullshit! I’ve been deadlifting Mack trucks since I was 17 and always manage to get my waist smaller than 34 inches. The only time my waist grows is if I get lazy and don’t train my abs or overeat. Bottom line! SO….back to basics and make this back explode.

I have given special attention this year to using only perfect form on every thing I do. Bit of a shot to the ego when it comes to weights, but they have gone back up relatively quickly. What does perfect form mean? Ahhh the question every aspiring bodybuilding should be asking! (and likely is!) Perfect form is getting a muscle AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE! And conversely, as long as possible, although both are not always possible in the same exercise. This should be the basis for where every workout begins. HOW DO I GET A MUSCLE AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE?

First, what does that mean? And what does a fully shortened muscle look like for each and every body part? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, and you’re trying to build muscle, you’re wasting time. Now, that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to build ANY muscle (if you use the “shake weight” enough times you will eventually build some muscle). However, if you’re like most people I know, you value your life and don’t want to waste your time in the gym. Who wants to work hard and not building muscle effectively…right?

Each week I will try to explain ONE exercise and what it means to fully shorten that muscle and HOW to do it! Since the theme for this week is BACK, here it goes for LATS…

The lats primary functions are to “adduct, extend and internally rotate the humerus.” Although there may be a few other functions in there, depending on specific fiber direction, these are the main ones we need to be concerned with. So, what does that mean? From the “anatomical position” (standing with arms at your sides, palms facing forward), it simply means: Bring your arm closer to your side, rotate the shoulder inward (so your palm is facing behind you), and extend your arm as far as possible behind you (without moving any other part of your body). TRY IT! See how it feels.

If you’re not getting close to this position in your workouts, you’re wasting time!
It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to do exactly this position on every exercise. Some exercises are slightly different angles etc. But this should be the primary goal and on your mind when executing each and every set and rep.